Acer Iconia W3 could be first of many full-fat Windows 8 tablets

8in for Windows 8, that’s the slogan that some vendors might adopt for the new wave of Windows 8 tablets with small displays that a number of manufacturers are expected to launch within weeks.

French website Minimachines has republished a post that sheds more details on one of those devices, the Acer Iconia W3. This is essentially an evolution of the current W510 which we reviewed earlier this year and which comes with a bundled keyboard docking station.

Like its bigger brother, the W3 is expected to have an Intel Atom Z2760 SoC based on the Clovertrail architecture and clocked at 1.8GHz with 1MB of L2 cache.

Other features likely to be included are 2GB of RAM, Windows 8 32bit, an 8in display (possibly with a 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution, the minimum required by Windows 8 for the optimal use of touch features), a front facing camera and a rear one, two speakers, Wi-Fi, two microUSB ports plus a microSDHC card slot.

Minimachine also posted a picture of the tablet sitting atop what looks like a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard that unlike the W510 doesn’t come with a touchpad.

Intel’s CEO, Paul Otellini, previously said that he expects average entry-level prices of Windows 8 touch devices to reach $200. So one wonders whether the W3 will be pitched around that price point.